The Sardinian gravel event once again proved its brutality, with only three drivers making it through the rally without major issues. That trio – Sebastien Ogier, Ott Tänak, and Kalle Rovanperä – stood on the final podium.
Toyota part-timer Ogier claimed his third win of the season by defeating Hyundai’s Tänak by 7.9 seconds. Rovanperä ended up with the second-largest points haul of the weekend after topping the Super Sunday classification and winning the Power Stage.
The rally’s biggest turning point came on Friday’s new stage, which eliminated three M-Sport Ford drivers and Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville. Toyota’s Takamoto Katsuta also rolled his car on that stage.
RallyJournal.com journalists Toni Heinonen, Aki Hietavala, and Ville Hirvonen rated each top-class driver using the grading scale, where 10 is excellent and 4 is the lowest passing mark.
Toni Heinonen
Sebastien Ogier 9½ (Position: 1st)
What a performance from the French veteran. He was nearly flawless once again and secured his third victory of the season. Just think: he’s skipped two rallies and still has more wins than anyone else this year, sitting second in the standings. Tänak tried to pressure him but couldn’t break him. The only slight deduction is for his Power Stage error.
Ott Tänak 9+ (Position: 2nd)
The Estonian has shown great pace in the last two events but has twice had to concede to Ogier. He complained over the weekend that the car still doesn’t feel right in his hands. One can only imagine what will happen if Tänak gets his machinery dialled in – surely that first win of the season will come soon enough.
Kalle Rovanperä 9+ (Position: 3rd)
His starting position on Friday was poor, but the leaders didn’t get too far ahead. His pace improved over the weekend as the car settings were refined. This was an extremely important signal for Rovanperä in terms of the title fight. Overall, he managed a solid defensive drive and ended up scoring even more points than Tänak – a commendable performance.
Elfyn Evans 7+ (Position: 4th)
The championship leader understandably struggled from his first-on-the-road position on Friday. However, even with a better start position later, he was far off the leading pace. Evans previously said that Portugal, Sardinia, and Greece would likely be tough rallies for him – but he needs to find more speed soon, or he risks losing his title lead.
Takamoto Katsuta 6½ (Position: 5th)
Fell short of expectations. Started the rally reasonably well, but then rolled his Toyota. It’s known that the Japanese driver has the speed, but consistency remains a problem. Still, he shouldn’t be too harshly criticised, as many had even bigger issues over the weekend.
Sami Pajari 6½ (Position: 7th)
Drove excellently for almost two full days. Pajari was running as high as fourth but dropped down after an unfortunate puncture. He paid a steep price for a Sunday driving error, but on the bright side, he didn’t lose positions to the Hyundai drivers.
Thierry Neuville 5+ (Position: 19th)
The reigning champion made a critical error on Friday’s tricky stage and had to retire from the lead. In terms of the title race, he lost a bunch of vital points. He did what he could on Super Sunday and collected five points. The season hasn’t yet reached the halfway mark, but it’s looking increasingly likely he’ll fall off the championship train.
Adrien Fourmaux 4½ (Position: 20th)
There’s little to praise in Fourmaux’s weekend. Let’s recap: a painful puncture, a lengthy detour through a field, running wide in a corner, and finally rolling his car. And this all happened in one day. This isn’t the first time he’s followed this pattern: one setback, and the whole weekend falls apart.
Gregoire Munster 4½ (Position: 32.)
And now to the M-Sport drivers, all of whom retired on the second stage. Munster won the “Ford Cup” by reaching the finish in 32nd. In terms of pace, nothing good can be said about his performance.
Josh McErlean 4½ (Position: 34th)
Fell victim to the same stage as Munster. After that, the Irishman gathered experience as a road sweeper. He’s still paying his dues, but it would be better to gain experience by finishing a clean rally.
Martins Sesks 4 (Retired)
Responsible for the biggest crash of the season. His rally was over then and there, and now it’s uncertain whether the car can be repaired in time for Acropolis. Expectations weren’t high for him in Italy, but soon he’ll need to start producing results.
Aki Hietavala
Sebastien Ogier 10-
What a phenomenal guy! Four rallies this season, three wins. A small minus for his final-stage mistake, which cost Toyota a few manufacturer points. Then again, Toyota’s lead is so massive it hardly matters.
Ott Tänak 9+
Did everything he could. Kept saying the car isn’t capable of challenging Toyota. Surely a frustrating situation for the Estonian. Still, an excellent performance.
Kalle Rovanperä 9½
Third place and full points from Sunday – not bad from a rally he dislikes and with a poor road position. Collected 25 points, second only to Ogier. Strong drive from Rovanperä after a tricky start.
Elfyn Evans 8
Gets a good mark, though he left a fairly bland impression. Had the worst starting spot, but one would’ve expected him to at least challenge Rovanperä. Still, a safe performance, and he retained the championship lead – even if the gap shrank again.
Takamoto Katsuta 7+
Fifth place after a dramatic rally. Survived his rollover scare, but a puncture ended any slim hopes of a better result. Still made it to the finish, so a fair grade from a tough rally.
Sami Pajari 7
Plenty of drama for Pajari too. A puncture and a Sunday hit that almost ended his rally. Showed mechanic skills and got to the finish. Seventh wasn’t what was hoped for after Friday, but surely a valuable learning experience.
Thierry Neuville 6
Is this going to be a repeated pattern – Hyundai can’t match Toyota, and either Neuville or Tänak crashes out each rally? He did what he could on Sunday, but the championship situation is now really tight.
Adrien Fourmaux 5-
Showed good pace and even led the rally. But then came a puncture, off-road excursions, and finally a rollover. Fourmaux seems to lose his composure completely after a setback. Still gets a passing mark for showing some speed.
Gregoire Munster 4+
Made it to the finish. Well – not really, since he retired on the same stage as the other Fords. He did complete Saturday and Sunday, though. Still, this just isn’t working.
Josh McErlean 4+
See above. The same kind of clumsy performance as Munster.
Martins Sesks 4
Car destroyed and out on the second stage. The Ford was so badly damaged it ended the weekend. Came into the corner far too fast – a rookie mistake and a failing mark.
Ville Hirvonen
Sebastien Ogier 9½
Another brilliant performance from the French star. Words are starting to fall short. Managed his lead beautifully on Saturday and sealed the win on Sunday. His third win of the season and a record fifth win in Sardinia. No perfect 10 this time as it got tight towards the end – but unlike last year, he wasn’t beaten by 0.2 seconds. The world’s best part-time driver.
Ott Tänak 9
Strong weekend from the Estonian. Showed good pace throughout and even threatened Ogier on Sunday. Could hardly have done much more. Clearly the top man at his team.
Kalle Rovanperä 9
A commendable performance from Rovanperä. Given all the circumstances, he couldn’t have done much better. Scored 25 points, and as he noted himself, that was the maximum possible. Closed the gap to his teammate Evans to just 20 points. With fast gravel rallies coming in Estonia and Finland, Rovanperä could take the championship lead on home soil – what a Rally Finland that would be!
Elfyn Evans 7
Eventually reached a decent result, though thanks to others’ misfortunes. Wouldn’t have finished that high purely on pace. Still leads the championship, but will have a tough time opening the road in Greece.
Takamoto Katsuta 6
A barely passing performance. Rolled his car, and his pace was off the mark all weekend. Katsuta seems stuck. He hasn’t taken that next step to become an elite driver – and one wonders if he ever will.
Sami Pajari 7
Bumped his car on Sunday morning and lost several positions, ending up seventh. Overall, though, a fairly successful weekend. Took points off Hyundai in the manufacturers’ standings and showed flashes of great pace. Pajari still needs to find more consistency – if he does, his performances will be judged in a different light.
Thierry Neuville 5
Made a small but costly mistake on the opening day. Clipped a stone wall at high speed and had to retire. The blame lies squarely with the driver – it wasn’t a huge error, but it had big consequences.
Adrien Fourmaux 4
Terrible rally from the Frenchman. First a puncture, then a comical field excursion, then running a corner massively wide, and finally a rollover. His mindset seems to crumble instantly when something goes wrong, and he can’t recover. Based on his post-rally comments, he doesn’t seem to realise he still has a lot of growing to do.
Gregoire Munster 4
Failing grade. Ruined his rally right at the start with an off on the same stage where all the other Ford drivers went out.
Josh McErlean 4
Same story as Munster. The second stage on Friday was his undoing. Retired, so a failing result.
Martins Sesks 4
Same again for another Ford driver. Had the most dramatic crash of the season, rolling the car on stage two. Rally over. Last year’s sensation hasn’t lived up to the hype this season – poor results and mistakes.
